General Votel Urges Congress to Consider Military Action Against Iran

The U.S. Congress should consider military action to disrupt Iran’s “malign activities” in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, according to Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of U.S. Central Command.

The general testified Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee and, in his written testimony, declared Iran to be the biggest threat in the Central Region, his command’s area of responsibility, which stretches from Egypt to the borders of China and India

“Iran poses the most significant threat to the Central Region and to our national interests and the interests of our partners and allies,” Votel wrote.

And the Islamic Republic hasn’t gotten any better since former President Barack Obama signed his nuclear deal with Tehran almost two years ago.

“We have not seen any improvement in Iran’s behavior since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), addressing Iran’s nuclear program, was finalized in July 2015,” Votel wrote.

He recommended that the United States not take this threat lying down.

Check out Votel’s 90 minutes of public testimony here. A classified hearing followed:

“Recognizing that Iran poses the greatest long-term threat to U.S. interests in the Central Region, we must seize opportunities to both reassure our allies and shape Iran’s behavior,” he wrote.

“I’ve had an opportunity to talk with some of our regional partners about it,” Votel told the Armed Services Committee, according to Breitbart. “I think we need to look at opportunities where we can disrupt through military means or other means, their activities.”

Although Votel recommended the country consider military action, he also said the United States should come up with diplomatic strategies to deal with Tehran.

“In addition to ready military actions, we must support the broader USG (U.S. Government) strategy with regard to Iran which should include new diplomatic initiatives that provide Iran with viable alternatives to its present course,” he wrote in his prepared testimony.

Make no mistake — the Iran nuclear deal brokered under the Obama administration caused this. When asked if Iran has been destabilizing the region since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Votel said, “I do believe they have,” according to Breitbart.

I wonder how hard it was for him not to follow that up with a “duh” afterwards.

Thank goodness we have a president who can clean up after former president Barack Obama’s embarrassing foreign policy failures.